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Importance of dividend yield when evaluating a stock?
Dividend yields can also reflect important information about the company's status. For example, a company that has never lowered or stopped paying dividends is a "strong" company because it has the cash/earnings power to maintain its dividend regardless of the market. Ideally, a company should pay dividends for at leas...
How could strike price for new shares be higher than the market price
This can arise with very thinly traded stocks for large blocks of shares. If the market only has a few thousand dollars available at between 8.37 and 12.5 the price is largely meaningless for people who want to invest in hundreds of thousands/millions of dollars worth, as the quoted price can't get them anywhere near t...
High expense ratio funds - are they worth it?
In almost every circumstance high expense ratios are a bad idea. I would say every circumstance, but I don't want backlash from anyone. There are many other investment companies out there that offer mutual funds for FAR less than 1.5% ratio. I couldn't even imagine paying a 1% expense ratio for a mutual fund. Vanguard...
Is there a reliable way to find, if a stock or company is heading bankruptcy?
You can avoid companies that might go bankrupt by not buying the stock of companies with debt. Every quarter, a public company must file financials with the EDGAR system called a 10-Q. This filing includes unaudited financial statements and provides a continuing view of the company's financial position during the year....
United States Treasury Not Endorsing Checks
Welcome to the 21st century, the New Order. Forget all that legal mumbo jumbo you may have read back in law school in the 1960s about commercial code. Its all gone now. Now we have Check 21 and the Patriot Act !!! Basically what this means is that because some Arab fanatics burned down the World Trade Center, the US go...
Why do investors buy stock that had appreciated?
People buy stocks with the intention of making money. They either expect the price to continue to rise or that they will get dividends and the price will not drop (enough) to wipe out their dividend earnings.
Are car buying services worth it?
I went through the Costco program for the so-called "no-hassle" bargain price when I bought my Prius. According to other Prius owners that I've met on forums and TrueCar's web site, I paid "average." Lots of people in my area managed to negotiate a better price by $1-2k. So much for getting a deal. I do not plan to use...
To whom should I report fraud on both of my credit cards?
First thing to do when you notice a credit card fraud is to call the respective banks who issues the credit card and most banks immediately (as far as my experience goes - twice) they will cancel the credit card and issue a new card with different number. Your credit card account will remain the same, no effect on cred...
How much should a new graduate with new job put towards a car?
I have a slightly different take on this, compared to the other answers. In general, I think your emergency fund should always be at least 3K, especially if you own a used car that is out of warranty. Any number of unlucky auto repairs could easily cost over 2K. So, if you have 7K in savings, I would personally buy a c...
What if I sell an stock that is going to give an stock dividend after the ex-date but before the payable date
Here's what Investopedia says about payouts for ex-dividend stocks: A stock trades ex-dividend on or after the ex-dividend date (ex-date). At this point, the person who owns the security on the ex-dividend date will be awarded the payment, regardless of who currently holds the stock. After the ex-date has been declared...
How come we can find stocks with a Price-to-Book ratio less than 1?
A lower Price/Book Value means company is undervalued. It could also mean something horribly wrong. While it may look like a good deal, remember;
Company stock listed in multiple exchanges?
If a company's shares trade in multiple exchanges, the prices in every exchange are very near to each other, otherwise you could earn money by doing arbitrage deals (buying in one, selling in the other) - and people do that once it becomes worth it. Which stock exchange you use is more a convenience for the buyer/selle...
I spend too much money. How can I get on the path to a frugal lifestyle?
My father imparted this advice to me when I was a teenager, and it hasn't failed me yet. > Pay yourself first What this means is that the first "bill" you pay should always be your savings. Preferably in a way that automatically comes out of your paycheck or account without requiring you to take an active step to make ...
What are my investment options in real estate?
Your post seems to read as if you want to invest only in real estate rental properties as a start because they will be a reliable investment guaranteed to generate profits that you will be plowing back into buying even more rental properties, but you are willing to consider (possibly in later years) other forms of inve...
Super-generic mutual fund type
Since you already have twice your target in that emergency fund, putting that overage to work is a good idea. The impression that I get is that you'd still like to stay on the safe side. What you're looking for is a Balanced Fund. In a balanced fund the managers invest in both stocks and bonds (and cash). Since you ha...
Avoid Capital Gains on Rental
What you are looking for is a 1031 exchange. https://www.irs.gov/uac/like-kind-exchanges-under-irc-code-section-1031 Whenever you sell business or investment property and you have a gain, you generally have to pay tax on the gain at the time of sale. IRC Section 1031 provides an exception and allows you to postpone pay...
What to do with south african currency free fall
Transfer your savings to a dollar-based CD. Or even better, buy some gold on them.
Dividend vs Growth Stocks for young investors
First, what Daniel Carson said. Second, if you're getting started, just make sure you are well diversified. Lots of growth stocks turn into dividend stocks over time-- Microsoft and Apple are the classic examples in this era. Someday, Google will pay a dividend too. If you're investing for the long haul, diversify an...
How can I remove the movement of the stock market as a whole from the movement in price of an individual share?
You run the regression R_{i,t} = a + bR_{m,t} + e_t, then a + e_t is the variation that isn't shared with the market's variation.
Mortgage or not?
If you do as you propose you are going to get burned. You need to sell, then start to rent. amongst other things. Since 2008, the economy never "recovered," but was sort of stabilized temporarily like a fighter on the ropes. The economy is beginning to collapse again, and that collapse will accelerate around the Fall. ...
Do I have to explain the source of *all* income on my taxes?
Well, that's probably not even all of it. If that stranger did his taxes properly, then he already paid about a third of it to the government because wherever he got it from it was income for him and thus it must have been taxed. Now, the remainder is in your hands and yes, according to US law it is now your income and...
How do I build wealth?
You got some answers that essentially inform you that CEOs that have £200k written on their paysheet may in fact get much more. I'll take the opposite point of view and talk about people who (according to whatever definition) have a £200k/year income. How can they afford it Guess no 1: not all of them can (in the sens...
Calculating Pre-Money Valuation for Startup
Putting a dollar amount on the valuation of a start up business is an art form that often has very little at all to do with any real numbers and more to do with your "salesman" abilities when talking with the VC. That said, there are a few starting points: First is past sales, the cost of those sales and a (hopefully) ...
What's the most correct way to calculate market cap for multi-class companies?
Some companies issue multiple classes of shares. Each share may have different ratios applied to ownership rights and voting rights. Some shares classes are not traded on any exchange at all. Some share classes have limited or no voting rights. Voting rights ratios are not used when calculating market cap but the ...
Usage of a sell stop order
It depends to some extent on how you interpret the situation, so I think this is the general idea. Say you purchase one share at $50, and soon after, the price moves up, say, to $55. You now have an unrealized profit of $5. Now, you can either sell and realize that profit, or hold on to the position, expecting a furthe...
Is it worth buying real estate just to safely invest money?
House prices do not go up. Land prices in countries with growing economies tend to go up. The price of the house on the land generally depreciates as it wears out. Houses require money; they are called money pits for a reason. You have to replace HVAC periodically, roofs, repairs, rot, foundation problems, leaks, el...
How to invest 100k
The best way to invest in college for your kid is to buy an investment property and rent it out. You might think I am really crazy to ask you to you to buy a real estate property when everyone is running from real estate. Go where others are running away from it. Look where others are not looking. Find out the need fo...
Is it practical to take actual delivery on a futures contract, and what is the process?
Not all futures contracts are deliverable. Some futures are specified as cash settlement only. In the case of deliverable contracts, part of the specification of a futures contract will be the delivery locations. As per my answer to your previous question, please see the CME Rulebook for details of delivery points fo...
Is it better to ask for a raise before a spin-off / merger or after?
I would guess that before the spin-off, more money would be available In my experience the reverse is true. The finance folks go into overdrive tightening everything up so that budget forecasts for the transition period are as accurate and predictable as possible. This can be true 6 months out, 12 months out, etc - dep...
How can Schwab afford to refund all my ATM fees?
Schwab is a highly diversified operation and has a multitude of revenue streams. Schwab obviously thinks it can make more off you than you will cost in ATM fees and it's probably safe to assume most Schwab clients use more services than the ATM card. It's not worthwhile to discuss the accounting of ATM/Debit/Credit ca...
200K 10-Year Investment Safest 5% Annual Return?
I don't think there exists a guaranteed 5% investment vehicle. You have to decide how much risk you're willing to take. Splitting your $200k between CD's and stocks (or whatever higher yield investment vehicle you've found) is a way to get a higher rate without risking it all. For example if you've got a CD at 3%, and ...
Capital Gains Tax with Multiple 'buy' Transactions per Stock (U.S.)
From 26 CFR 1.1012(c)(1)i): ... if a taxpayer sells or transfers shares of stock in a corporation that the taxpayer purchased or acquired on different dates or at different prices and the taxpayer does not adequately identify the lot from which the stock is sold or transferred, the stock sold or transferred is charged ...
I have $10,000 sitting in an account making around $1 per month interest, what are some better options?
I disagree with most of the answers here so far because they are either too risky or too conservative and don't take taxes and retirement into consideration. OP, keep in mind the higher the potential return, the greater the risk. You haven't stated your risk tolerance, but consider the following: Pick a certain percent...
How to pay for Alzheimer's care?
See Paying for Care | Caregiver Center | Alzheimer's Association. Notable excerpts: For most individuals 65 or older, Medicare is the primary source of health care coverage. However, private insurance, a group employee plan or retiree health coverage also may be in effect. [...] In addition to Medicare, the per...
If I sell a stock that I don't have, am I required to buy it before a certain amount of time?
I'm just began playing in the stock market. I assume you mean that you're not using real money, but rather you have an account with a stock simulator like the one Investopedia offers. I am hopeful that's the case due to the high level of risk involved in short selling like you're describing. Here is another post abou...
Can I donate short-stock to charity?
With a short position you make your money (profit) when you buy the stocks back to close the position at a lower price than what you bought them at. As short selling is classed as speculation and not investing and you at no time own any actual assets, you cannot donate any short possition to charity. If you did want to...
mortgage vs car loan vs invest extra cash?
It depends on your tax rate. Multiply your marginal rate (including state, if applicable) by your 3.1% to figure out how much you are saving through the deduction, then subtract that from the 3.1% to get the effective rate on the mortgage. For example, if you are in the 28% bracket with no state tax impact from the mor...
What is the best use of “spare” money?
Investing in mutual funds, ETF, etc. won't build a large pool of money. Be an active investor if your nature aligns. For e.g. Invest in buying out a commercial space (on bank finance) like a office space and then rent it out. That would give you better return than a savings account. In few years time, you may be able t...
Is it accurate to say that if I was to trade something, my probability of success can't be worse than random?
The previous answers make valid points regarding the risks, and why you can't reasonably compare trading for profit/loss to a roll of the die. This answer looks at the math instead. Your assumption: I have an equal probability to make a profit or a loss. Is incorrect, for the reasons stated in other answers. However, t...
Understanding highly compensated employees within 401ks
HCE is defined as being above 120k$ or in the top 20 % of the company. The exact cutoff point might be different for each company. Typically, only the base salary is considered for that, but it's the company's (and 401(k)-plan's) decision. The IRS does not require HCE treatment; the IRS requires that 401(k) plans have ...
Is it worth buying real estate just to safely invest money?
Neither you nor others have mentioned the costs of being a homeowner. First, there are monetary costs. If you own a house, you have to pay taxes. They will vary by jurisdiction, but are usually not zero. You also need insurance, which again comes with monthly rates. Then, once in a while, you'll be hit with unpleasan...
How can I avoid international wire fees or currency transfer fees?
Be aware that ATM withdrawals often generate hidden fees, which are not obviously declared. Many banks operate e.g. with a currency exchange fee, giving you an exchange rate some 1-2% lower than actually applicable. If you withdraw larger amounts, such a currency exchange fee easily adds up to what you would have paid ...
What emergencies could justify a highly liquid emergency fund?
I tend to agree that the need for liquidity is overplayed in this day and age. We live in a world of electronic transfers that take only a couple days at most. With my brokerage account I can go from stock to gas in my tank via debit card in about 3 days. We're a long way away from the days when it took weeks, phone ...
Why people still look for “naked” short-sellng stocks instead of short selling CFDs
Investopedia has a nice article on this here The Key benefit looks like better returns with lower capital. The disadvantage is few brokers offering that can be trusted. Potentially lower return due to margins / spreads. Higher leverage and can become an issue.
Help me understand Forex in Interactive Brokers
You're confusing open positions and account balance. Your position in GBP is 1000, that's what you've bought. You then used some of it to buy something else, but to the broker you still have an open position of 1000 GBP. They will only close it when you give them the 1000GBP back. What you do with it until then is none...
Why do investors buy stock that had appreciated?
For the same reason you wanted it when you bought it. No-one guarantees that you'll be able to sell the stock you hold, and in fact many people get stuck with stocks they'd like to sell, but no-one is buying. But if investors think there's a profit potential that is not exhausted yet - they'll want to buy the stock.
mortgage vs car loan vs invest extra cash?
A point that hasn't been mentioned is whether paying down the mortgage sooner will get you out of unnecessary additional costs, such as PMI or a lender's requirement that you carry flood insurance on the outstanding mortgage balance, rather than the actual value/replacement cost of the structures. (My personal bugbear...
What happens if one brings more than 10,000 USD with them into the US?
Since all the other answers thus far seem to downplay the risk (likelihood) of the money being seized, I figure I may as well make my comment an answer. Unless you happen to have your legal team travelling with you and your suitcase of cash, you should expect that you'll be questioned extensively, so that any sign of n...
Why do interest rates increase or decrease?
Fundamentally interest rates reflect the time preference people place on money and the things money can buy. If I have a high time preference then I prefer money in my hand versus money promised to me at some date in the future. Thus, I will only loan my money to someone if they offer me an incentive which would be a...
I'm only spending roughly half of what I earn; should I spend more?
I use to think there was something wrong with me because I always hated spending money. This hatred of spending resulted in me always saving quite a bit of my income. Since I don't enjoy spending it, why am I making and saving it (besides for an emergency fund)? I've come to the realization that I enjoy my free time ...
What's the difference between Buy and Sell price on the stock exchange [duplicate]
The same as when you are buying a car. If a dealer quotes 10k and you quote 8k. 8k is the buy price and 10k is the sell price. Somebody might quote 8.5k and another dealer might quote 9.5k. The the new price that you see on your screen is 8.5k(Best buy price) and 9.5k(Best sell price). When the buyer and seller agree ...
How often does a stock price change and where is this defined?
Stocks prices are determined whenever a buyer and seller agree to trade at a given price. The company (you use AAPL as an example) doesn't set its own stock price. Rather, the investors set the price every time it trades. There's no "official" price -- just the last trade. Likewise, you can offer to trade a stock at wh...
Wardrobe: To Update or Not? How-to without breaking the bank
If you budget for cloths and save up the money, you may be able to take advantage of sales when they are on. However only buy what you will use! You need to ask yourself what value you put on cloths compared to other things you can spend the money on. Also would you rather have money in the bank encase you need it ...
Personal checks instead of business ones
I'll assume you are asking about a check for some kind of work or service that you provided them, that they hired your company to do. No large business will do that. In their records they have a contract with your company to provide services. If they write you a personal check it won't match with the contract, and when...
When will the 2017 US Federal Tax forms be released?
It's not quite as bad as the comments indicate. Form 1040ES has been available since January (and IME has been similarly for all past years). It mostly uses the prior year (currently 2016) as the basis, but it does have the updated (2017) figures for items that are automatically adjusted for inflation: bracket points (...
I have more than $250,000 in a US Bank account… mistake?
If you were married the 250K protection can be expanded by the use of joint and individual accounts. A separate limit also exists for IRA accounts. With out those options you will have to put some additional money into another banking institution. This could be a bank or credit union. You have to be careful to make su...
Are variable rate loans ever a good idea?
The earlier you are in your career, the more willing you should be to take a better opportunity even if it has a short-term financial cost. You go to college even if McDonald's has an opening. After college you may take an entry level job with better long-term prospects even if a higher paying job is available. You ...
Is it best to exercise options shares when they vest, or wait
To me it depends on things like your net worth, debt, and how other assets are invested. Currently you have 25K invested in the company you work for. If you have 100K in student loans, are a renter, and 12K in your 401K, then I would recommend exercising almost all of your options. In that case you have a much to ...
Can Warren Buffet's method be distilled into basic steps?
Warren Buffet isn't using any special sauce. He looks for value and ignores hype, greed, and fear. He buys what he knows and looks for companies that generate cash and/or are available for a discount of their true value. He explains what he looks for in a company and his reasons for buying it. He has said on numerous o...
Investing: P/E Ratio basic question
Let's take a step back. My fictional company 'A' is a solid, old, established company. It's in consumer staples, so people buy the products in good times and bad. It has a dividend of $1/yr. Only knowing this, you have to decide how much you would be willing to pay for one share. You might decide that $20 is fair. Why...
Should you always max out contributions to your 401k?
To be clear, a 401K is a vehicle, you make investments WITHIN it, if you choose poorly such as say putting all your money into company stock when working for the next Enron, you can still get hurt badly. So it is important to have diversity and an appropriate risk level based on your age, tolerance for risk, etc. That...
Where can you find dividends for Australian Stock Market Shares (ASX) for more than 2 years of data?
It's difficult to compile free information because the large providers are not yet permitted to provide bulk data downloads by their sources. As better advertising revenue arrangements that mimic youtube become more prevalent, this will assuredly change, based upon the trend. The data is available at money.msn.com. H...
Why does capital gains tax apply to long term stock holdings?
In Australia we have a 50% capital gain discount if you hold the asset for more than 12 months, whether it is in shares, property or other assets. The main reason is to encourage people to invest long-term instead of speculating or trading. The government sees speculation or short term trading as more risky than long t...
What forms of payment am I compelled to accept?
I just listened to a podcast on this topic this week, and Satanicpuppy is pretty much correct. If you are interested, here is a link to the podcast on Legal Lad: Can Businesses Refuse to Accept Cash?
Dividends - Why the push to reinvest?
A dividend is a cash disbursement from the company. The value of the company goes down the same amount of the dividend, so it is analogous to having money in a savings account and taking a withdrawal every month. Obviously you are going to have less in the end than if you just kept the money in the account. suppose t...
Equity market inflow meaning
Inflows to the US equity market can come from a variety of sources; for instance: You were paid a year-end bonus and decided to invest it in US equities instead of foreign equities, bonds, savings or debt reduction. You sold foreign equities, bonds, or other non-US equities and decided to invest in US equities. You dec...
Can anybody explain the terms “levered beta riders”, “equity long-short” and “the quant process driven discipline” for me, please?
Leverage here is referring to "financial leverage". This is the practice of "levering" [ie increasing, like the use of a lever to increase the amount of weight you can lift] the value of your investment by taking on debt. For example: if you have 100k in cash, you can buy a 100k rental property. Assume the property ma...
If someone gives me cash legally, can my deposit trigger an audit for them?
Am I right to worry about both of these? Of course. Who carries $75K in cash for no good reason? Your friend got the cash from somewhere, didn't he? If its legit - there's paper trail to show. Same for your parents. If you/they can show the legit paper trail - there's nothing to worry about, the hassle, at worse, is a ...
As an employee, when is it inappropriate to request to see your young/startup company's financial statements?
This is several questions wrapped together: How can I diplomatically see the company's financial information? How strong a claim does a stockholder or warrantholder have to see the company's financials? What information do I need to know about the company financials before deciding to buy in? I'll start with the easier...
Can you deduct hobby expenses up to hobby income in Canada?
Yes, your business needs to be in the business of making money in order for you to deduct the expenses associated with it. I suppose in theory this could mean that if you take in $10,000 and spend $30,000 every year, you not only don't get a net deduction of $20,000 (your loss) but you have to pay tax on $10,000 (your ...
How do historically low interest rates affect real estate prices?
Interest rates do generally affect house prices but other factors do too, especially the unemployment rate. However, everything else being equal, when interest rates drop, it makes the borrowing of money cheaper so tends to stimulate the economy and the housing market, increasing the demand for houses and generally cau...
One of my stocks dropped 40% in 2 days, how should I mentally approach this?
If you own the stock today, it doesn't matter what it traded for yesterday. If XYZ is trading for $40 and you own it, ask yourself if it's worth buying today for $40. If it isn't, you may want to consider selling it and buying something that is worth $40.
Can I open a Solo 401(k) if I am an independent contractor but also work part-time as an employee?
A Solo 401k plan requires self-employment income; you cannot put wages into it.
Loan to son - how to get it back
I started a business a few years ago. At one point it wasn't going so well and my father "loaned" me an amount not too dissimilar to what you've done. From a personal perspective, the moment I took that loan there was a strain the relationship. Especially when I was sometimes late on the interest payments... Unfortu...
How to shop for mortgage rates ?
You can shop for a mortgage rate without actually submitting a mortgage application. Unfortunately, the U.S. Government has made it illegal for the banks to give you a "good faith estimate" of the mortgage cost and terms without submitting a mortgage application. On the other hand, government regulations make the "go...
Why is auto insurance ridiculously overpriced for those who drive few miles?
4000 miles a year is not a few! European average is about 9000... But nevertheless... But when it comes to risk, then: 1) Nothing stops you from changing circumstances and drive 10 times as much as in previous yers. The insurance remains the same. The only thing the insurance company can do is to charge you more next y...
Can an S-Corp write off work and merchandise expenses donated to a non-profit organization?
An S-corp doesn't pay income tax -- taxation is pass-through. This being the case, there are no tax deductions it could take for charitable giving. The solution would be for you to make the contribution out of your own pocket and then personally claim the deduction on your own taxes.
Is the return on investment better with high or low dividends?
It is a bit more complicated than whether it pays more or less dividends. You should make your decision based on how well the company is performing both fundamentally and technically. Concentrating mainly on the fundamental performance for this question, most good and healthy companies make enough profits to both pay o...
Paying restaurants in cash instead of credit card - how signficant is this?
You know those perks/benefits that you don't want to give up? Those are funded by the fees you are trying to eliminate by paying cash. The credit card company makes money by interest, merchant fees, and other fees such a annual fees. They give you perks to generate more transactions, thus bringing in more merchant fees...
Differences in conditions on shares to private vs. public shareholders?
Shares sold to private investors are sold using private contracts and do not adhere to the same level of strict regulations as publicly traded shares. You may have different classes of shares in the company with different strings attached to them, depending on the deals made with the investors at the time. Since public...
Pay online: credit card or debit card?
One more thing to favor the card. Extended warranty, or damage coverage. An iPad, if dropped on a hard surface, stands a good chance of breaking. Apple isn't going to cover that, as it's not a defect. Many credit cards offer free coverage for breakage of this type as well as doubling the warranty up to a year. This sec...
Should a high-school student invest their (relative meager) savings?
At your age (heck, at MY age :-)) I would not think about doing any of those types of investments (not savings) on your own, unless you are really interested in the investment process for its own sake, and are willing to devote a lot of time to investigating companies in order to try to pick good investments. Instead, ...
Why does the calculation for percentage profit vary based on whether a position is short vs. long?
Simple math: 50-25=25, hence decline from 50 to 25 is a 50% decline (you lose half), while an advance from 25 to 50 is 100% gain (you gain 100%, double your 25 to 50). Their point is that if you have more upswings than downswings - you'll gain more on long positions during upswings than on short positions during downsw...
When a stock price goes down, does the money just disappears into thin air?
At any given time there are buy orders and there are sell orders. Typically there is a little bit of space between the lowest sell order and the highest buy order, this is known as the bid/ask spread. As an example say person A will sell for $10.10 but person B will only buy at $10.00. If you have a billion shares o...
Trading on exchanges or via brokerage companies?
I was wondering what relations are between brokerage companies and exchanges? Are brokers representing investors to trade on exchanges? Yes...but a broker may also buy and sell stocks for his own account. This is called broker-delaer firm. For individual investors, what are some cons and pros of trading on the exchange...
What's the difference between buying bonds and buying bond funds for the long-term?
A bond fund will typically own a range of bonds of various durations, in your specific fund: The fund holds high-quality long-term New York municipal bonds with an average duration of approximately 6–10 years So through this fund you get to own a range of bonds and the fund price will behave similar to you owning the...
Rent or buy with 0 down
In the situation you describe, I would strongly consider purchasing. Before purchasing, I would do the following: Think about your goals. Work with good people. Set a budget. Be able to handle surprises. If buying a home makes sense, you can do the following after buying:
Why are prices in EUR for consumer items often the same number as original USD price, but the GBP price applies the actual exchange rate?
It's mostly VAT (value added tax or sales tax). For example an US IPad is $499 without tax, and a German IPad is EUR 499 including 17% VAT. The base price is actually only EUR 417. In addition to that, cost of business is a little higher in Europe because of tax structures and because smaller countries cause higher ov...
What choices should I consider for investing money that I will need in two years?
Never invest money you need in the short term. As already suggested, park your money in CDs.
If I buy a share from myself at a higher price, will that drive the price up so I can sell all my shares the higher price?
This probably won't be a popular answer due to the many number of disadvantaged market participants out there but: Yes, it is possible to distort the markets for securities this way. But it is more useful to understand how this works for any market (since it is illegal in securities markets where company shares are inv...
Should I pay cash or prefer a 0% interest loan for home furnishings?
There are several issues with paying for furniture and appliances with 0% credit instead of paying with cash. When you pay with 0% credit, you might be tempted to spend more on something than you would have if you paid with cash, because it feels like free money, and you've justified in your mind that the extra you ear...
How can I legally and efficiently help my girlfriend build equity by helping with a mortgage?
I agree with everyone who has simply told you 'Dont' and 'You can't' and add a few more considerations that you don't want to deal with: What you want to do is admirable but very complicated from a financial and legal perspective. If this is really a route that you want to go down you should give up on the 'simple' an...
Is threatening to close the account a good way to negotiate with the bank?
From the bank's perspective, they are offering a service and within their rights to charge appropriately for that service. Depending on the size of their operation, they may have considerable overhead costs that they need to recoup one way or another to continue operating (profitably, they hope). Traditionally, banks w...
What to do with old company's 401k? [duplicate]
Your best bets are a Roth IRA or traditional IRA. If you roll it to a Roth, you will have to pay taxes on the amount you roll over (unless it was a Roth 401k), however what is in the Roth will grow tax free and it will be tax free when you withdraw. With a traditional IRA, you won't owe taxes on the money now but wil...
Account that is debited and account that is credited
The credit and debit terms here is, talking from bank's point of view (shouldn't be a surprise, banks are never known to look at things from the customers' POV ;)). In accounting, a liability (loans, owners capital etc) is a credit balance and asset (cash, buildings and such) is a debit balance. Your account is a lia...
Valuing a company and comparing to share price
There are books on the subject of valuing stocks. P/E ratio has nothing directly to do with the value of a company. It may be an indication that the stock is undervalued or overvalued, but does not indicate the value itself. The direct value of company is what it would fetch if it was liquidated. For example, if you bo...
IRA for work and my business
Yes, you can have both. You'll need business income to contribute to a SEP IRA though.
Should I be claiming more than 1 exemption?
It's not possible to determine whether you can "expect a refund" or whether you are claiming the right number of exemptions from the information given. If your wife were not working and you did not do independent contracting, then the answer would be much simpler. However, in this case, we must also factor in how mu...
Does borrowing from my 401(k) make sense in my specific circumstance?
I completely agree with Pete that a 401(k) loan is not the answer, but I have an alternate proposal: Reduce your 401(k) contribution down to the 4% that you get a match on. If you are cash poor now and have debts to be cleaned up, those need to be addressed before retirement savings. You'll have plenty of time to mak...
How much does taking a Microeconomics course help you understand the field of investing?
Not much at all, especially an introductory level Microeconomics class. There are a few reasons for this: That's not to say that Economics isn't worth studying. I loved both my Micro and Macro class. But I probably got more useful investing knowledge from a class on linear regression.